Apparatus for towing water-planes



April 12, 1932. J. R. ARMAN APPARATUS FOR TOWING WATER PLANES Filed Oct. 27, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll illlna April 12, 1932. J. R. ARMAN APPARATUS FOR TOWING WATER PLANES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 27, 1931 M L I www wo f 14a,

Patented Apr. 12, 1932 UNITD sr TEs PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH KOCH AIRMAN, OF MARSEILLE, FRANCE APPARATUS FOR TOWING WATER-PLANES Application filed October 27, 1931, Serial No. 571,379, and in France October 31, 1930.

The present invention relates to an appara tus for towing water-planes on the sea.

When a water-plane is obliged, by reason of a breakdown or for any other reason, to

come to rest on the surface of the sea it is in danger of being immediately destroyed especially if the sea is. rough in consequence of a high wind.

The characteristic parts composing a water plane, i. e. the wings, hull and floats are such that, when the water-plane has once settled on the sea and is incapable of employing its means of propulsion, it is at the mercy of the wind which rocks it and capsizes it even if the 'floating supporting members have been able themselves to resist the action of the waves.

In order to avoid or retard as much as possible the disastrous effect thus caused, the

- water-plane is furnished with a floating anchor'which 'allows it, whilst drifting under the action of the elements, to maintain itself with its head to the wind, i. e. in the position which is the ,best for preventing it being wrecked.

For the purpose of attempting torescue a drifting water-plane only one procedure has been adopted up to the present, namely'the ordinary method'of'towing the drifting craft into a safe position; but this procedure has 30 not proved satisfactory in practice.

' Statistics show that, at the present time,

the number of water-planeswhich are rescued when they are out. ofthe immediate neighbourhood of the shore is practically zero.

This results from the different characteris tics of the two bodies which come into consideration, namely the tow boat on the one hand and the water-plane ,on the other hand, which latter is rigidly connected tojthe former by a tow rope or cable.

A water-plane when towed by a tow boat, even with its head to the wind, yawsor sheers con siderably this action being accentuated by i the action of the gusts of wind, and even if the wings in their dis-organized movements do not become entangled in the other parts of the water-plane and cau se'it to capsize,

the hull, which is always weak, is destroyed by the shocks caused by the towing action or becomes engulfed in the sea.

. Moreover, it is absolutely impossible forcthe tow boat which is towing the water-plane to follow a course which is different from the dlrection of the wind for the reason that v r the water-plane cannot ofier any resistance when it is in a position broad-side on to the wind.

It is the principal object of the present invention to 'eliminate'these serious'disadva'ne tages. The invention consists in a towing ap- 6O paratus which renders it possible for the tow boat to follow a course different from the direction of the wind in order to attain the nearest shelter. The apparatus is preferably provided with means for discharging i1 c5;

tinuously so as to render it possibleto keep the water-plane in a zone of the sea which has been artificially rendered calm. Furthermore, the general arrangement according to I I the invention provides for considerable elas- 7s ticity or resiliency of the towing members whereby the shocks or vibrations, which inevitably arise during ordinary'towing operations, are absorbed so that destruction of the hull of the water-plane is avoided and it is prevented from yawing.

The towing apparatus operates by the aid of floats provided with large drifting surfaces of known type carrying the principal towing members. The said floats aretowed 30 by a single tow boat and are arranged in such manner that by the displacement of the tow boat and consequently of their connections to the latter, the said floats move apart from one another on each side of the course or wake of the tow boat, to extents which'are each adjustable as desired, in such manner that they come into position on the. surface of the sea at conveniently located points, at

which the towing force is applied to the water-plane. i

The said towing forceis thus not applied directly as in the case of the ordinary known towing operation, but is applied along lines which form an articulated polygon (this being a characteristic feature of the invention) the different sides of the said polygon being adapted to be varied from the tow boat at will in order to obtain the result most suitable to the state of the sea and the force of the wind.

Two preferred applications of the apparatus according to the invention are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically in plan an apparatus according to the invention provided with two floats, and

Fig. 2 shows in similar manner diagrammatically in plan an apparatus accordingto the invention provided with three floats, namely two floats similar to those of Fig. 1 and a third float which is added in order to improve the operation and the resiliency of the towing action.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes the tow boat, B, B the towing ropes or steel cables for the drifting floats, QC the towing cables of the water-plane which are passed through eyelets or hooks E, E connected to the floats D, D, S denotes bags for discharging. oil, G denotes the towed waterplane, the arrow F indicates the direction .in which the wind is blowing, R, R indicate the course followed by the. tow boat. The posit-ions taken up by the towed water-plane which moves parallel to itself during the towing operation are indicated by G, G.

Inorder' to render clear the method of employing the different members constituting the towing apparatus according to the invention the following explanation of the mode of operation for towing a water-plane in a high sea and a strong wind is given.

The operation in question is greatly facilitated. if the tow boat is provided with a Windlass T having four drums which can be rendered independent if desired. or a Windlass having two drums and two windla ss heads for operating the four towing cables.

The tow boat,.after the crew of the drif ing water-plane have been saved, hooks the extremities of two tow ropes which have previously been rolled upon the two drums of the Windlass, to one or to two fixed points at the front of the hull of the water-plane and keeps itself with its head to the wind.

The water-plane being driven by the wind moves away from the tow boat which pays out a certain length of tow rope. The drifting floats are then each attached to its tow cable and are unshipped in order'to avoid the ropes becoming entangled in the propeller of the tow boat. If the wind is low the tow boat will moveslowly forward with its head to the wind. The floats move apart from one another and the hauling ends of the tow ropes of the floats are belayed or braked. Similarly the tow ropes of the water-plane are braked on their winding drum.

Owing to the speed of travel of the tow boat the water resistance causes the floats to move apart. The tow ropes are then paid out at the same time and when the length of the cable outside of the tow boat is sufiicient they are held by the braking action on the drum or are belayed.

The tow boat is steered so as to follow the course which is necessary and the length of the cables is adjusted as required so as to ob tain on the surface of the sea an articulated parallelogram of towing members most suited to the state of the sea and the force of the wind.

If the sea is excessively rough and the wind very high, it is advisable before commencing the towing operation to dismantle the wings or to reduce in any other manner the top load of the hull of the water plane. If the weather is bad, a bag S containing tow impregnated with oil for discharge into the sea is fixed on one of the upper clasps of the floats when the latter are dropped into the sea. Similarly when the weather is bad the elasticity or resiliency of the principal tow ropes can be increased by fixing at a suitable point on their length a weight P which absorbs: by gravity action the shocks resulting from the tractive force.

Still greater resiliency of the tow ropes of the water-planemay also beobtained by connecting the drifting floats with the disengaging clasps or hooks E through which the tow ropes pass by means of known devices such as metal springs, rubber devices (sandow, etc.) or the like, but in this case the resilient connection is always duplicated by means of a safety HIBII'IlQGFSUCll as a cable or chain.

Similarly resilient connectionsof known type may be interposed between the waterplane and the tow ropes atthe point of fixation of the latter, the said connections being, however, likewise always duplicated by the provision of suitable safety members.

When the crew of the tow boatv have accurately determined the adjustmentof the length of the sides of the towing parallelogram, the tow ropes of the water-plane may be fixed directly to the point Eof connection with the drifting float so that there are only two tow ropes to manipulate on board instead of four.

If it is desired to limit the curvature of either one of the two tow ropes an auxiliary float may be arranged as shown in Fig. 2 at a suitable point on the tow ropes of the drift-- ing float appertaining to the said first-named tow rope in question.

The said auxiliary float is fixed by means pf a strap or line and also supports the tow oat.

Signals of known kind visible by day and by night may be arranged on the floats in order to indicate their positions.

I claim:

1.. An apparatus for towing water-planes on the sea, comprising in combination: a tow boat; tow ropes on said tow boat connected to the water-plane and arranged so as to form on the surface of the sea a flexible adjustable polygon; floats attached to said tow ropes; and means for varying the sides of the polygon at will, whereby an adjustable towing connection is formed which maintains the water-plane always in a position of equilibrium.

2. An apparatus for towing water-planes on the sea, comprising in combination: a tow boat; tow ropes on said tow boat connected to the water plane and arranged so asto form on the surface of the sea a flexible adjustable polygon; floats attached to said tow ropes; means for Varying the sides of the polygon at will, whereby an adjustable towing connection is formed which maintains the water-plane always in a position of equilibrium; and means provided on said floats for discharging oil on to the surface of the sea, whereby the towed water-plane is maintained in a zone of the sea which has been artificially rendered calm.

3. An apparatus for towingwater-planes on the sea, comprising in combination: a tow boat; tow ropes on said tow boat connected to the water plane and arranged so as to form on the surface of the sea a flexibly adjustable polygon; floats attached to said tow ropes; means for Varying the sides of the polygon at will, whereby an adjustable towing connection is formed which maintains the waterplane always in a position of equilibrium; and weights arranged on said tow ropes, whereby they are rendered more resilient. Signed at Marseille this fourteenth day of October, 1931.

J. R. ARMAN. 

